Lesson 6: Malaysia - Economic aspirations in conflict with democratic expectations and environmental concerns
OBJECTIVE: To review an essay on economic and environmental tensions in Malaysia. To provide a short assessment of forest-management related issues that are often of great concern to developing countries. To determine how forest management impacts upon other environmental issues.
Malaysia, a model from the developing world?
Little news from Malaysia makes its way into the Western Media, perhaps least of all any reporting on the precarious state of Malaysia’s unique and striking environment. Although Malaysia has the potential to be a regional leader well beyond its economic muscle, it is missing opportunities to consolidate its own impressive gains and is in danger of forsaking the chance to set an example of sustainable development for the region and beyond. Continued half-hearted attention to environmental issues bears the risk of irreversible environmental degradation and the threat of a rising tide of social conflict in Malaysia.
The basic developmental and economic statistics of Malaysia are indeed impressive and several countries of Eastern Europe now set to join the European Union would be more than pleased to have many of Malaysia’s developmental standards. Malaysia’s GDP pre capita and life expectancy index are close to or even well above levels in Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. Still today, among the countries in South-East Asia Malaysia stands out as one of the economically most advanced. Aside from oil-rich Brunei and the city-state of Singapore, at position 56 Malaysia ranks highest in the region on the UNDP development index (trailed by Thailand at 66 and The Philippines at 70). Yet economic cycles are hardly more predictable than bathtub bubbles. The Southeast-Asia crisis of 1997 effectively dismantled the myth of any economic “miracle” as the ambiguous and hard truths of globalization hit home. Globalization needs to be, understood as a political project to maintain capitalist production modes on a global scale: it seeks to privatize profits and socialize environmental costs.
--------------------------------- Malaysia in a box (1999) Area: 329,750 sq km (204,445 sq mi) Population: 22 million Capital city: Kuala Lumpur (pop 1.2 million)
People: 50% Malay, 33% Chinese, 9% Indian, plus indigenous tribes such as Orang Asli and Iban Language: Bahasa Malaysia, English, Chinese dialects, Tamil, indigenous dialects
Religion: 52% Muslim, 17% Buddhist, 12% Taoist, 8% Christian, 8% Hindu, 2% tribal ---------------------------------
Malaysian environment in a box
Natural resources: tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 12% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 68% (a highly controversial estimate, GB) other: 17% (1993 est.) Irrigated land:2,941 sq km (1998 est.) Natural hazards: flooding, landslides
Environment - current issues: air pollution from industrial and vehicular emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; deforestation; smoke/haze from Indonesian forest fires
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands Source: http://surforever.com/sam/a2z/a2z.html ---------------------------------
By the year 2020 Malaysia is expected to reach industrialized nation status. Already today is characterised by rapid urbanization and industrial activities: these will increasingly have an impact on the environment that serves both as the source of raw materials for development and also as a "sink" for pollutants. The federal and local governments, industry, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and consumers have to act collectively to ensure that development takes place in a sustainable manner. The utilization of natural resources must be well planned.
In the urban case of Kuala Lumpur, the most crucial natural resource is land. Indeed urbanization poses a major concern. The rapid development of urban Kuala Lumpur is imposing significant pressure on the natural resources and environmental capacity. In an urban environment, per capita resource consumption and waste production is comparatively high compared with the rural environment. That trend will ultimately have serious adverse effects on the life support system, including land, water and air, on which humans depend for survival, and aesthetic values such as green parcels of land, natural terrain and pristine ecosystems that can enhance the quality of life and mental health of its inhabitants.
Apart from depleting renewable and non-renewable natural resources, development also promotes environmental degradation in the form of flash floods, landslides, mud flows, soil erosion, siltation and sedimentation of rivers, unmanageable waste production and water scarcity. It is therefore imperative for a fast-developing country such as Malaysia to protect, conserve and utilize its natural resources in a sustainable manner for the sake of future generations.
For a natural resource driven economy like in Malaysia, environmental factors are of critical importance for development. Malaysia is one of the 12 countries in the world identified as a “megadiversity” region. Today there are serious concerns that Malaysia could loose the “mega” prefix as a downward environmental trend is now in full swing. The Asian Development Bank sees two broad environmental challenges Malaysia faces over the medium to long term:
- management of its remaining forest resources on a sustainable basis - addressing the environmental problems resulting from rapid industrialization and urbanization.
Clearly whether or not these challenges are met, depends on committed political leadership, able and prepared to act regardless of special interests.
